Secrets Carefully Kept
by KiahTrickster
Summary: There are secrets within the colony, kept carefully for the protection of everyone. But one, well that is a little more personal, the welfare of the colony hinges on it, not everyone would be as excited as Zoe Shannon to find a vampire in the ranks of Terra Nova's leadership. Not a traditional vampire fic in some ways. Strong T, some mature themes but nothing explicit. Oneshot.


A random oneshot, not related to anything else, and I am still working on Dawn of A New World.

**Secrets Carefully Kept**

Cutting back from the gates Alicia Washington hid the frustration she felt as she wove through the market square. There were secrets in this colony, some more important than others. The Sixers were a problem, that was common knowledge, however, some connections between Mira and Lucas Taylor were not well known outside a small circle.

Lucas had been at the falls again while the Sixers had hit another supply train this morning. She had spent her day dealing with that, the only satisfying part of that was she knew the Sixers had not gotten what they wanted in the raid and would still be struggling for transport and ammunition.

A small voice caught her attention and made her break her stride, eyes scanning for the owner. "I know there are vampires here. One came on the last pilgrimage, my frie…."

"I know what your friend said Zoe but there are no vampires in the colony. Just because some people aren't nice it doesn't mean they are vampires." Amused Alicia followed for a few moments and listened as Maddie tried to reassure her little sister. Maddie Shannon had a run in with an evil man all to recently, Jim Shannon had handled that but the man in question could count himself lucky he hadn't met her or the Commander.

However, Zoe's insistence had the teenager shaking her head and laughing, trying to tell the child she was wrong. She smiled to herself as she slipped away, the only vampire in Terra Nova had arrived a long time ago. But little girls didn't need to worry about that; the matter was in hand.

It didn't mean it was common knowledge, the reality of it had been a bit of a shock to her system; she wasn't about to let the colony try to sort it out. Fear and panic might stray too many citizens from the proven facts and folklore wouldn't help.

Climbing the steps of the Command Center she slipped into Taylor's office and headed for her desk. Unable to hold a smirk from her face; aware he would have caught the expression.

He waited for the shift to change before sidling over. "What has you so entertained?"

"Someone is on to you." She teased, knowing he would realize what she meant. "Her timeline is a little off, but she remains convinced a vampire snuck through the portal on the last pilgrimage."

"Really?" He frowned, she knew he listened closely to colony gossip for that purpose, carefully hiding his condition.

"Mhm, although she was disappointed when Maddie told her there aren't any here." Alicia gave him a winning grin. " Poor Zoe was hopeful."

He rolled his eyes and gave her shoulder a shove, he knew she listened just as carefully as he did. While he might have more to lose on a personal level, they would all lose if their leader were to be judged on a condition, he had no control over.

...

Nathaniel Taylor nodded, only one person here knew of his secret and her knowledge had changed his life. It wasn't long after the third pilgrimage arrived. He had snuck out of the colony to hunt, late at night. Heightened senses put him on the trail of a gallosaur, the small dinosaur a convenient snack when a familiar scent made him freeze.

Wash stood in the treeline to his left, watching silently. For a moment he had simply stared, trying to gauge her reaction; part of him relieved that she hadn't reached for her weapon or run in horror. At different times he had imagined being discovered, his years in the war coloring his expectations and imagination. His Lieutenant did none of the things he had thought someone might and as he lay the unconscious creature aside, she took a step towards him.

"You've been sneaking out of camp to do this since we got here." She stated flatly.

"A few times a month." He admitted, no point in lying to her now. "I would make an issue of it with the sentries, but I need to do it."

"I only caught a glimpse of you when I was coming down from a tower." And he was relieved that she had come alone to find him. "We should go back."

He only nodded in agreement, she must have seen enough to answer her questions; but her opinion was another matter. As she turned back towards the colony, he fell in step beside her, trying to figure out what to say. But as they stepped into the colony she turned away, heading for her own unit; her shift had ended hours ago.

In the morning it wasn't brought up, they worked together, dividing the daily tasks and meetings; but whenever she was near, he watched. Late in the afternoon his plex beeped with an incoming notification, someone in the eye was searching a topic he had flagged; he knew it was his Lieutenant.

Descending the stairs Nathaniel swallowed hard, they needed to talk; she needed to understand the truth of what he was. It didn't have to change the way they worked, but if she believed the legends and folklore it would.

As he drew up behind her, he frowned, she had a myriad of information up on the screen, research and myth. She was using her own security clearance to put a system alert on it, on a much broader array of information than he had. She barely turned her head, but he knew she was aware of him, still adding items to her alert.

"You've flagged it too." She said, setting the plex she had been working from aside.

"I flagged some of it. You've really dug in." Now he drew close, reading the titles on the screen.

"I didn't need to read the stories or fairy tales, about eighty years ago there was some actual research done in some of the old Scandinavian countries, the borders there have shifted now along with public opinion, but the papers were put online to counter some of the more popular myths." She switched the screen to a paper he had read a long time ago, that research may have published the truth, but the experiments done on those who volunteered were horrific. "You can't change me, you have to have the genetic condition or you wouldn't be able to serve. The popular myth came from stories and historically inaccurate understandings of blood disorders and illnesses, the military would have screened you out."

"I would never hurt you Wash, I cannot change what I am, but I do control my urges." He hadn't drank from a human since his mother fed him as a young child.

He had learned to consume food, though it did little for his body but fill the hole, drinking from the creatures he could catch here and going long stretches between meals. None of it was really what his body craved, leaving him heavy and tired, but it kept his secret and let him live out in the open.

"You can feed from me." Her words, calm and almost casual had an intense pressure erupting inside of him, his fangs descended at the thought. "It would be a great deal safer than your current strategy."

"I wouldn't ask that of anyone." He murmured softly, his parents had enjoyed that dynamic, allowing them to live fairly normal lives while others hid and feared discovery.

"It's worked in the past." She changed the articles on the screen again, this one a case study he had read many years ago when he had struggled with telling Ayani. While his wife had known of his condition, and carefully kept the secret she had never been able to wrap her head around what he craved. The reality of it was much different, and he wasn't sure Wash understood it.

"The venom will ease the pain, but it isn't an instantaneous reaction. And the first time it will take longer to process the venom, it will hurt long after the wound is sealed." His saliva would seal the wounds his fangs left, leaving only feint marks on her skin as his venom worked inside of her; adding fluid, easing pain and triggering her body to rapidly make new blood cells.

"I'm sure I've known worse, and I'd rather nobody else catches you the way I did." She set the plex aside and the screen went blank. "We already work long hours together, no one has to know. And if I can't take it, I will help you find another way."

He searched her face for any sign of fear or hesitation, he knew how she reacted and recognized the determination in her eyes. She had made her decision, and she certainly understood what she was saying, but he still swallowed hard. The door to the eye was secure, they wouldn't be disturbed. And her offer was very tempting.

When he sat beside her, she tipped her head away, giving access to the slender slope of her neck, he wouldn't feed anywhere so evident. Wash barely flinched as one hand slid to her hip and the other pulled the neckline of her shirt towards her shoulder; leaning in to inhale her scent. His fangs ached, nearly thrumming in time to her pulse, she did tremble slightly as he let his fangs scrape her skin.

"Tell me to stop and I will." Nathaniel promised, even as one arm slid around her middle, no matter how tough she was, this time she would struggle, and the movement could cause a lot more pain and injury. He would force himself to stop if she asked, but he held onto her for her own safety.

Quickly his fangs broke her skin, once and then shifting forward a little before pressing in again; staying embedded this time. She did thrash briefly against him but gritted her teeth and was silent, eagerly he sucked at the wound he had made.

His body trembled at that first warm gulp, feeling the pressure in his jaw release as venom flowed into her. He drank quickly, with each gulp his fangs injected soothing fluid back into her body; it was with reluctance he stopped. Laving his tongue over the puncture marks to taste the last drops of her blood and seal the wounds.

...

Stunned she sat still, tucked securely into his arms, trying to ignore the ache that emanated from her shoulder. He was still too, but he seemed relaxed somehow, in a way she had never seen.

When she shifted, he let her go, reaching out to rub her shoulder, it still felt strange. Oddly numb now, it had hurt at first and for a moment she had been lightheaded, unnerved by the cool fluid pressed into her flesh. She recognized what it was doing, his venom was certainly potent, easing the pain and calming her nerves; she'd been given drugs with less punch.

Quietly she rose and took her plex, heading for the stairs; she wasn't sure what to say to him. This was necessary, he could not be caught by anyone else, though she still had to figure out how he hadn't been yet; to join the military he would have had to submit to the full workup. And she had spent the last decade on his unit, patching him up often enough; at least a couple of those times he'd been sent on to the tent hospital.

He had managed most of his life with this secret, a career and a family, she didn't know if he had told anyone; or what he had eaten then. Since the portal she assumed he had made little trips like the one she had interrupted.

They didn't talk about it, she felt him watching her constantly that day and the next, he didn't push or ask but Alicia had been reading some of the reports she had downloaded to her plex. He should be eating daily but when she offered, he shook his head.

"Let your body adjust, I'm used to time between my meals." Blue eyes studied her, and Alicia nodded, wanting him to say more.

She returned to her work and gave him another day, he should be able to figure out what he needed. But the next day turned out to be just a little bit rougher for her.

Her morning was spent running the new soldiers through drills and familiarizing them with their posts and parole routes. In the afternoon she took a team on a short supply run to one of the relay stations they were building. The new recruits weren't used to driving the big rhinos, she got one to drive it out without issue but switched the kids out for the trip back.

He misjudged the first turn and had the vehicle smashing along a rock face on the passenger side as he tried to turn the wheels enough to get back on the track; ignoring her orders to stop. As the metal creaked and buckled Wash leaned forward to punch in her override before he over corrected and sent them head first into one of the towering trees on the other side.

The kid hit the brakes as her code activated, Alicia was thrown into the mangled door hard, pain exploded in her side as her vision swum. The damn vehicle finally still, she took a moment to breath, wincing as she shifted in her seat; her side of the rover was shredded. Sharp metal had sliced through her body armor in a few spots and her forehead was going to bruise.

"Get in back." She ordered, her tone cold in a way some would mistake for calm as she took the wheel and drove back to base, fighting to ignore how her head was splitting.

She saw the reactions on the tower as the gate rose, and the chatter crackled through her comm. The accident had happened so close to base it wasn't worth getting another team out there when the transport was still operational. She stepped out gingerly as the new soldiers piled out of the back, all three of them were scared now and she frowned as she saw Taylor approaching; his face a mask.

"What happened here?" He demanded, his tone hard.

"We need to review transport operations and handling a bit more." She wasn't the only one who go beat up, the kid in the back seat had a nice cut now and they would all be feeling it in a few hours.

"You need to get checked out. " Guzman reached out to touch the cut on her forehead. She nodded and gestured to the kids still standing near the transport; her friend sighed. "I meant all of you."

" I'll see to her." Taylor responded before she could, his hand closed tightly around her upper arm. She glanced back to see a dangerous look in his eye, was the smell of blood getting to him?

Alicia didn't argue as the young soldiers slipped away and another climbed into the damaged vehicle, Taylor nudged her to the side and then back towards the newly built units; one of which was hers. He pressed his palm to the sensor and the door slid open; grabbing her med kit before nudging her down onto the couch.

She sat still as he carefully cleaned the cuts and abrasions, he glared at the knockoff bottle of wound sealant and leaned closer. She shivered as his fangs grazed her skin, the slight pressure triggered his venom and it trickled into her wounds, with a cool numbing effect quickly followed as he laved his tongue across each. It should be strange, but she was used to how he sealed the punctures he left, and she had learned that the original wound sealant had been derived from properties only found in the venom of vampires; it had taken years to synthesize it in a lab. He was far more effective than any cheap spray in her kit.

...

It surprised him how his senses tuned to her, how he learned to read the nuances of her body language with the slightest glance. Part of it was survival instinct he was sure, but in part he suspected it was also what she gave him; he was stronger than he had ever been.

For the first few months he was careful to wait for her to offer, and to drink quickly taking only a limited amount of blood from her. But he knew her body was adjusting, she was getting used to him. He still wrapped his arms around her when he fed, but she barely tensed when his fangs broke the skin, he knew when she was angry or stressed; she wouldn't relax into him.

Gradually the frequency increased until he was used to feeding each day, enjoying the energy it gave him. Months turned into years, he didn't like to think about things going back to the way they had been before, and had he begun to approach her.

Sometimes standing behind her, rubbing her shoulders until she tipped her head away; offering the soft sweet spot he liked. Some days he found her in the training compound late at night, tiny form fitting shorts clung to her thighs, and he crouched between her knees, tasting the salt of her sweat with the tang of blood; Wash had liked that and so had he.

Today she was in a mood, she had spent the morning doing combat rounds with the newest division, they'd come in with the ninth and one of the squads had not come up to her standards; she'd gone a round or two herself by the look of the bruise blooming on her jaw. No sooner than she sat down than their comms crackled with chatter; they had a Sixer transport inbound.

She was up and only a step behind him as he headed for the gate. Soldiers flowed past them as the security force took their place along the fence, weapons leveled at the incoming transport, on the towers above the Sonic's charged; the gate remained firmly shut.

The Sixers only had a few rhinos and fewer battery packs and Mira had to know they were testing his patience. If they had ore to trade, he'd have to listen; the colony needed it. As they stepped up to the gate their comms started to crackle, the tower up by the power grid had activity in the trees.

Wash shot him a look before breaking away to check it out, her orders crackled through the comms as he turned his attention to their incoming guests; so, this was the latest diversionary tactic. It wasn't going to end well for the Sixers, especially the ones up by the power grid, Wash was already in a mood and there was no love lost between her and the Sixers; she'd hit them hard.

He was going to play with Mira a little bit today, this was a nuisance more than anything else. The gates were not raised, and the unit stationed along the fence kept their weapons trained on the transports. Taylor waited for the Sixers to move away from the rhinos and then gave orders for disabling fire, they were going to hump back to wherever their hideout was and lose the vehicles and whatever was inside; he'd already warned them once.

He saw the shock on many faces as the Sixers reacted, first ducking for cover and then realizing that their transports were useless. He watched Mira, her angry glare found him. "You were warned and yet again you've come to the gates; endangering the lives of the colony you chose to abandon."

"We came to trade." Mira spat at him, looking almost as uneasy as her men did. Had they not tried to steal power from the grid he might have entertained them; but today they left with nothing.

"I won't trade on the safety of my people." He signalled for the gate to rise and immediately the security team ducked under to take up formation. The Sixers, already shifting uncomfortably began to flee as Terra Nova's armored transports started forward.

He sent a scout team after them, perhaps some would be foolish enough to head straight back to their hideout but turned his attention to the power grid; Wash was working with a much smaller team to defend one of their major resources. Mira's duplicity was not a surprise, but it did aggravate him, he knew the Sixers had been sent for a reason, but he was going to give them a reason to fear the colony.

There was a handful of soldiers stationed at the grid, they reported that Wash had taken a team to pursue their intruders on foot. He slid out his Plex and brought up her tracking information; she was in a rocky gorge just north of them. He took a transport and followed, listening to the team's chatter as they pursued three through the gorge; Wash confirmed on Carter and Reynolds recognized another. They were Mira's trusted accomplices; the Sixers must really need some power.

An hour later they had two in the brig, Carter had managed to slip away, but Nathaniel drove them all back to base. His eyes slid to Wash more than once, she was seething and sore after her day, it was rolling off her in waves.

The Sixers transports had been towed into the gates and before he even stopped the rhino Wash was out, she didn't go to see what cargo they carried but slid into the driver's seat to touch the control panel. He joined her as she called up the route history, pride swelled in his chest as he saw it hadn't been cleared since it came through the portal. They knew everywhere this vehicle had been.

"Good work Wash." He clapped her on the shoulder, he'd wanted to make the Sixers suffer but this was invaluable.

"We finally have the intel we need." She sighed, their mole hunt had been exceptionally frustrating, but they had something much better than a spy now.

"We've also got a full shipment of ore." He had checked the cargo hold before joining her.

Wash nodded as she copied the records to her Plex and then to his before doing the same with the other transport and heading for the tower. Her unit was on the gates tonight and he wasn't sure if they were going to get a pep talk or a warning, knowing Wash it would be a bit of both.

He gave orders for evening posts, he expected a reaction once the Sixers regrouped, and sent the transports around to the repair bay. Wash was back at her desk when he made it upstairs, shift was over, but she was already pouring over the GPS records; he crossed and rested his hands on her shoulders. Instinctively her head tipped away, the offer made his fangs descend, always eager for a meal.

"Go ahead. When I get out of here, I need a drink." But her words made him pause, there were many times he wanted a drink, but he wanted a real one; he craved it.

"C'mon." He pulled her up, some of his favourite days were Saturday mornings, he could taste the faintest hint of alcohol in her blood and it was excellent.

He wanted more, and he happened to know she had a thing for whiskey, he did too, he'd saved a few bottles. Real stuff, not the imitation Boylan attempted to make; she'd like it and so would he.

She didn't argue but put a pace between the as they headed down to the square and the around to their units, built in the first-round years ago. The area was quiet, and they slid into his unit.

He kicked off his boots and slipped through to the kitchen before coming back to the living room. He pressed an ice wrap to her cheek and gestured for her to sit as he went to the cabinet, taking down the bottle and a short glass. He poured out several fingers of amber liquid before turning back to her; his body thrumming in anticipation.

Wash eyed him for a moment before taking the glass and a cautious sip. Then looked up at him. "Will you sit down? You can look at me like a steak but do it from eye level."

"Sorry." He murmured, dropping onto the couch beside her.

"It's okay, it used to freak me out, but I get it." She took another sip and his fangs throbbed, still he frowned; he had never intended to make her uneasy. "Usually it's after one of us has been off colony for a few days and I know you're hungry; your more intense. Are you going to have some?"

"Yes." He said quietly, knowing she would make the connection. She glanced to him and tossed back the rest of the drink, Nathaniel nearly growled, eagerly lifting the bottle to pour her another.

Wash glanced at it and eased back into the couch, he could see the tension in her shoulders easing; she was watching him. She didn't reach for the glass. "You're really into this?"

"You like the real thing." He nodded to her glass, hoping she would reach out and knock it back too; he was waiting for the strong liquor to seep into her system. "You know Boylan's crap doesn't match up; the same theory applies. The real thing, the kind I like, it doesn't come out of a glass or a bottle."

He could catch hints of what she ate, and he knew when it had been to long since she stopped to grab a bite. He'd caught the faintest tastes of beer or wine in her system over the years, but never enough; never more than a slight flavoring. The whiskey would be strong, there would be an edge to the taste of her today and he was waiting impatiently for it.

After a time, he shifted her into his arms and fed eagerly upon her, the wait was more than worth it, and the drink had her relaxed against him. Nathaniel took his time, she had savored her drink and now it was his turn; it had been a long day.

The Sixers were a problem, it was likely that they would continue as they started and now more than ever it was vital, they did not learn of his secret. The day was coming that the war for this beautiful new world would break, and the secrets they kept, the strength his Lieutenant shared with him would make the difference.

...

A/N: This story has some time jumping and flashbacks, I hope it makes sense outside my head.


End file.
